Visible index



W. P. DE SAUSSURE, JR

VISIBLE INDEX Filed Jan. 15. 1924 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 7 :19 Z J; TE 12HAZWJA I; ATTORNEY w. P. DE SAUSSURE, JR

VISIBLE INDEX Filed Jan. 15 1924 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 llllllllllllllllllll]liullllllllllflll w a I 1 I I I I 1 I I ,1 n 4 I l l I I I I l I I- I II 1 I n I v11, Mil/11101141 11 1 INVENTOR Patented July 2?,

nil-ire. s

hill-5d W'ILLIAM F. DE S-AUSSUBIE, JEEL',

OF .ENGLEWOOD, NEW JERSEY.

VISIBLE INDEX;

Application filed January 15, 1924-: seriailnoqcseesv.

'lhisrinven-tion relates to visible indexes or information racks, andaims to improve the operation of devices heretofore used for thispurpose and to adapt them to addi The invention relates to the type ofvisible index in which a series of cardholders are .staclredvin a rack.Visible indexes of,- this type are'shown'in Patent No. 1,106,3 l l:issued to George S. Tiffany and ine on August l, 1914,".2111Cld31lilyapplication filed August 31,1921, SerialNo. $7.1M, Patent NoulASBfilfi,datedFebruary 12,.192-l.

Ali object of the present invention is to prevent displacement or mixingof the card holders whenthey are moved. apart for inserting ethericsrdsin the holders. A. fur ther object isto space the card holders apartfrom one another in order to make provision for a plurality of cards ineach holder or for tl1e..insertion of signal devices between theholders. Another objrct is to provide for holding certain cardspermanently in the holders and permitting the temporary insertion ofother cards. A still further ob ject is to provide the; holdes withsliding,- signal devices, and so to relate the card holding means withthe. signal device of each holder to insure the display of apredetermined; signal when a card is removed from the holder.

A... visible index embodying the present invention is of particularvalue when used for a roomindex. for hotels and when so used seiwes toindicate when each room is made up and unsold, made up and sold,occupied, or not made up and unsold. The index the serves to telltheroom clerk the ex ct con ition of each room at any time. Many featuresof the invention are, however, useful in connection with. indexes usedfor other purposes.

The invention may besthe understood by detailed description of thespecific room indexes embodying it which are illustrated in theaccompanying drawings, in which 1 is front elevation of a room indexembodying the invention inv the form which I consider most desir ble ;1

Fig", 2 .is; a side elevation ;..of index. shown i.n..Fig j.1 sectionedon .thel line ofFig. 3; I V

Fig. 3 is enlarged horizontal section of "the index taken o'n-gth elines of Figs. 1 and? T new senil -.1" t .F-ie:-.;3, butzom;

smaller scaleshowing-a modified-form of rack frame;

Figx-5 :is a front face view of one of the cardholders with its parts inposition. to indicate that a :roo1n is madcupand unsold;

Fig: dis: a frontface view of one of. the card holders with its partsin'positicn to indicate thatj a roonr is'made up and sold Fig. 7 is afrontface VlGWOfkOllG ofthe card holders containing", a name card toindicate: that s. 100311" is occupied;

Fig.6 isa front face view of one of the card holders with (its parts inposition: to indicate that-a roontis not made up and unsold;

Fig 9 is an enlarged transversesection on the line 99 of. Fig. '5

Fig". 1.0 is an enlargedtransverse-section onthe line l10 of Fig-6;

Figzfll is an enlarged transverse section on the linen-11 of Fig.7

Fig. 12 isiianr enlargedlongitudinal sec-. tion onthe line -1212 of Fig.6;

Fig. 13 is an enlargedlongitudinal section on theline 13-13 of Fig. 17

Fig. 14 isa perspective view of one-of the card holders Fig. 15. is aperspective view'of one ofthe room; number cards Fig. 16 isa perspectiveview of-one-of the signal cards;

Fig. l? is a perspective view of one ofthe signal slides;

18 is a perspectiveview of oneof the room data cards;

Fig- 19 is a perspective view of one of the transparent strips;

Fig. .20 is a perspective view of one of the removable guest cards; and

Figs. 21, 22, 23 and 24 are face views similer to Figs. :5, 6, 7 and 8,respectively, showing. a modified card holder and theparts associatedtherewith.

The visible index comprises a rack frame and -a plurality of cardholders mounted: in the rack frame. The rack frame 10j,..whi?h lSlllOSl;desirably formed of sheet metal; comprises. a flat back 11, two parallelsides 12, and. two front flanges ll, 15 6X-- tending; inwardly from the.sides. The upper end of'the back 11 may be bent forward toprovidea top16 fonthe rack. A support (for the lowermost. card holder is providedatthe. bottom 0f.-.the racln This support inety coi'ifsistg of;art-upwardly inclined shelf ltlt) 13'. For a reason hereinafterexplained it is detachably secured to the rack frame by means of a screw18 entering the back 11.

Each card holder 20 is formed from a piece of sheet metal or othersuitable material. Each card holder consists of a plate 21 having at itstop a turned-over flange and at its bottom edge a short turned-overflange 23 and a longer flange 24 projecting perpendicularly outward. Thecard holder is provided with rearward projections 25 and with forwardprojections 26, 2-6, all of which are stan'iped from the plate 21.

hen the card holders are placed in superimposed relation in the rackframe 10, as shown in Figs. 1, 2 and 3, the rearward projections of eachholder serve to support the lower edge of the next holder above so thatthe holders are retained in overlapped relation. The forward projections26, 26 and the flanges 24 of the holder serve to space the holders apartfrom each other and to keep them parallel to each other. In order toprevent the holders from being relatively displaced, or mixed up, afterthey have been placed in the rack frame, each holder has at each of itsends a recess 27 which engages a longitudinal projection, or rail, 19 atthe inner surface of each side 12 of the rack frame. he projections 19preferably have the form of removable rods, as shown in Figs. 2 and Therods 19 extend between the bottom shelf 17 and the top 16 of the frameand engage the recesses 27 of each holder. When the bottom piece 17 isre moved both the rods and the holders may be removed from the frame.Besides serving to prevent relative displacement of the holders, therods 19 serve to retain each holder inclined forwardly from the back 11of the frame.

The longitur"al proje-tions 19 may be restrained a ainst forward oroutward movement as f -ianiple by malt 1g longitudinal PlOjEttiOllS intal with the side 1:2 as shown in Fig. 4. and in this case the frontflanges l-l. 15 at the sides 12 may be omitted as the lined projectionswill serve to prevent outward movement of the card holders 20.

In order to adapt the index for use as a room index, each card holderhas a number of parts associated with it which. while they aredetachably secured to the holder, are not detached from the holder inthe ordinary use of the index, and may, therefore, be regarded aspermanent parts of a holder. 'fhev include a signal card 30,

a room number card 50,

two slides 1-0, g transparent strip 60, and a room data card (0.

The signal card 80, Fig. 16, is placed over the front face of the plate21 of the holoer with its upper edge under the flange 22 and its loweredge under the flange 23 and on the the holder. Gne end of the card 30engages the forward projection 26". lChe card 30 s two horizontal slots3.4, 32 which correspmiding slots 28. 28 in the The portions of thefront face of the card 30 ust to the right of each of slots 37:2 32 arecolored in some bright o :xr such as red. The ren'iainder of the ma becolored or not, as desired. 1 found, homver, that economy in manue maybe effected by marking or printa strip of color 33 along the upper .r'the front face of the card 30. 7 le 17, has a flat bot y 41 a rearwardlv projecting tab 42 at one end and a forwardly projecting tab 4:3 at eother end. The slide is placed with in the slot of the card 30 and theslot 28 of the plate 21. The slide it) is like the slide 10 and issimilarly applied with its tab 42" in the slots 32, 28.

ihe room number card is applied over the body of the slide 40 and overthe card 30 th its upper edge under the flange 22 and its lower edgeunder the flange 23. inner side edge abuts against the proectio-n 'ilhetransparent strip is applied over the upper POl'LlODS of the room numbercard *0 and the signal card 30 and over the l1, 4-1 of the slides l0,40. Its up per edge held by the flange 22 while its lower edge held innotches 29 formed in *tions 26, 26. T he transparent ins two slots, {32,62, parallel to :paccd longitudinally to the right from c lots 2:? 28 inthe plate 21. The forwar 'ly projecting tabs d3, 43 of the slides 10, -0project through the slots 62, 62, re-

p ivelv.

' 42. of the slides slide in the .2 28 82, while the front tabs theslides slide in the slots 62,

n hole er only by endwise movement, the tlns far described cannot beremoved is holder when it is in the rack frame ray therefore be regardedas parts perassociated wi h the card holder. oom data card is appliedover Its upper portion exsignal card 30. tends under the transparentstrip 60 while its lower edge rests on the flange 24:. Its right handend engages the forward projectioi 26 while its left hand end 71 liessome distance to the right of the projection 26. The card 70 reeess'72in its upper.

(it) i 6 eel-:- The" "slide to see of hi be seen through the portion ofthe rims seen through the pcrtionot the transparent strip- 60 edj'ecentto' the"-slot 62, since this po'rtion o't the colored striplies-'hcyondthe letthan d"end i'l of the' cerd'TO." Allthe otthe coloredstrip 33"is covered either by the room-nrunbcr curd 50 'or by the room(lateral-(1W0. The two'portions of the colored strip Slifivhich arenctcoveredby thesecards are 'covered'by'the bodies ll, "1-1." of theslides 40; 40" when the-slides arcpushed tothe right; On the card 70nmiy'-be 1rrarhed data totheroom' Whose number appears on the card ofthe samescriptionof the: size and "furnishingsoi the roonri XE' lHlGtllQ" card 1s not"removedindex, it can" beremoved "Without taking thecz-trdurrder the transparent strip and allowmguts lower-edge to rest onthe perpendiculur things 26. Consequently When a change in the holder.corresponding to this roonr Without disturb. the rest of the index.

In;edditionto the parts descrlbed, which are more or less permanentlyassociated with each card 'ho'ldergn temporary card orv guesti card'80;7 end 20, may be mounted in each ccrdhord'erin"the use of "the index.'lhe temporary card or guest cord may beer the. numez'cnid addressof theguest occupying the room whose number appears on the curdholder.Theguest cerdSO may be applied to a holder by insertingfits upperportion underthe transparent strip 60 between the projections fztiend-26 and ellowinp; the ion-" er edge of the card to rest on the iHenge 24:. It will be noted that the guest curd 'cenbeinserted in eholder only When the slide" 4:0"is pushedtothe left and the slide 40pushed to the right, end that,.

when the guest card is removed from the holder, the slides occupy thesePOSltlOllSlllL til moved hymeens oftheirfront tehs. In

, stead of inserting the upper portion oft-he. guest card-under thetransparent strip 60, it may be simply dropped into the pocket. formedbetween ench hol'der and the holder next below.

1; i .2 Thenseof the index which has beendescribed 1s as follows z-Thecard holders. are

arranged "in .the..fremek10,. or. in. .a. plurality of such frames,with" the. numbers ofth'eir room;.numheri; eardst'so, in predeterminedor p i holder are pushed td lide'it, so"thet ermit-set":

the colored 'stripsBS are visible-udjec at to the slot'62 end theslotSZZ'hsshoWn in Fig. The colored signal at the slot indicates that theroom is unsold, While the colored s v nal the the room is made up. henany room is sold or engeged,"tlie room clerkmoves the slice of thecorrespending card holder to the right 'covering the colored si l. ed-

jecent to the slot The card heir u OH. i appears as shown in Fi 6,indicatinga glance that the room is sold and thet'it is made up. V ien,on'the arrival of the guest he guestcurd 80 is made out; the slide 40moved to the'l it, theslide d0 moved T0 the right, end the guest cardSt) is in- '-rted in the holder. It should be noted let the slides 10and d0 will block the en- :nce of the guest card uniess moved. to thehit and right respectively hetore thecurd is inserted. Aftertheinsertion of theguest' curdthe card holder and the guest cerd ap-"pear Sl1UWn'"iIl 7, indicating that the room is occupied and by Whom itoccupied; When the guest leaves, guest curd is removed. This leaves theslide 40 at the leftend the slide 40 at the ht, so that-the cardholder'appeersas indicated in 8. The colored. signal 2M1- jacent to theslot GQ'indicetesthetthe room is unsold,- While the absence of e coioredsignal adjacent to the slot 62"indicetes that the roomhes not been madeup and is therefore, not ready for occupancy by another guest. As soonas the clerk is informed that the-room lms been made up, he inovestheslide 40 to the left. The card holder then again presents the appearanceshown in Fig. 5,indicating-thutthe room is ready for enotl'r'er guest.-

Fronrth'e above description it is apparent that the index lteeps the"room clerk constantly intorined asto the exact condition of eztch room.It also tends to avoid mistakes the i slot 6:2 indicatesthut 3o der thestrip 60 ench'removed by raisins.

any. number of the holders inthe ro Duriire; suchmo'vement of theholders, they: are held in proper inclined reletion,'botli by theengagement oftheir res r tabs with the heck' ll and bythe enga ement oftheir side recesses with therods 19.

lif tor enyreason it is -wished .to. call special. attention to aparticular room, special sigrnehpiece may be inserted in J i nt of vthe, room number C trd" of the.-csrd'-' border-LI, this room. Thespacing o 1""jthc holders b fitlle pi ojections 26,26 and the dange -24;allows space" for the insertion of simplified form of card holder andassociated parts which may be manufactured at cost than the card holderalready described, and, while not quite convenient as the formdescribed, may nevertheless be used to give the room clerk the sameinfor mation. The holder 20 shown in Fi 21 to 2+1; and the partsassociated with it similar to the holder 20 and the parts as sociatcdwith it, except that the slide r and the slots for the tabs of thisslide are omitted. In the use of this holder the colored signal whichappears through the por tion of he transparent strip adjacent to itsslot 62 when the slide 33 is pushed to the left may be used, as before,to indicate that the room is unsold. After a guest leaves, the go. cardis removed from the holder and may be folded and rein sorted in theholder. In r inserting the card it may be placed with its upper portionunder the transparent strip 60 or may be simply dropped to the space orpocket between the holder in which it was inserted and the holder nextbelow, so that it stands on tile flange 24: as shown in Fig. 2a. Ineither case, the folder card leaves the signal adjacentto the slot 62uncovered, thus indicating that the room is unsold, while the presenceof the folder guest card in front of the holder indicates to the clerkthat the room is not made up. When the clerl; rece es word that the roomhas been made up, he removes the folder guest card from the holder,leaving the holder as shown in Fig. 21, indicating that the room is madeup and unsold.

hat is claimed is:

l. A visible index, comprising a rack frame having parallel sides, alongitudinal projection extending along the inner surface of one of thesides, and a series of card holders slidably mounted in inclinedoverlapping superposed relation in the raclr frame and extending betweenthe sides thereof, the bottom of each holder engaging a. partof theframe extending parallel to said longitudinal projection and each holderhaving in one end a recess of substantially greater width than saidprojection engaging said projection, whereby the holder is held inclinedto the projection and parallel to the other holders.

2. ll visible index, comprising a rack frame having parallel sides,longitudinal projections extending along the inner surface of each ofthe sides, and series of card holders slidably mounted in inclinedoverlapping superposed relation in the rack frame and extending betweenthe sides thereof, the bottom of each holder engaging a part of theframe extending parallel to said projections and each holder having ineach of its ends a recess of substantially greater width than saidprojections engaging one of said projections, whereby the holders areretained in their inclined position.

3. ll visable index, comprising a rack frame having a back and parallelsides, a

longitudinal" projection extending along the inner surface of one ofsaid sides, and a series of cart holders slidably mounted in inclinedoverlapping superposed relation in the rack frame and each having arearward projection adapted to support the lower edge of the holder nextabove, the bottom of each holder engaging the back of the frame and eachholder having a notch of sul'istant-ially greater width than saidlongitudinal projection in one of its ends engaging said projection,whereby the holders are retained in their inclined position.

4;. A visible index, comprising a rack frame having parallel sides, arod removably mounted in the rack frame and extending along tie innersurface of one of the sides, and series of card holders slidablymounted. in inclined overlapping superposer relation in the rack frameand extending between the sides thereof, and each holder having in oneend a notch which engages said rod and is of substantially greater widththan the width of the rod, said rod serving in cooperation with a partof the frame to retain the holders in their iclined position.

5. A visible index, comprising a rack frame having parallel sides, twolongitudinal rods removably mounted in the rack frame and extendingalong the inner sur-- face of the two sides respectively, and a seriesof card holders slidably n'iounted in inclined overlapping superposedrelation in the rack frame and extending between the sides thereof, eachholder having in each of its ends notch which engages one of the rodsand is of a width substantially greater than the width of the rod, therod serving in cooperation with a part of the frame to retain theholders in their inclined posi-- tion.

6. A visible index, comprising a rack frame having parallel sides, tworods removably mounted in the rack frame and extending along the innersurfaces of the sides respectively, and a series of card holdersslidably mounted in inclined overlapping superposed relation in the rackframe and extending between the sides thereof, each card holder havingin each of its ends a notch which engages one of the rods and is of awidth substantially greater than the width of the rod, the rod servingto retain the holders in the rack frame and in cooperation with a partof the frame to retain the holders in their'inclined position, and eachcard holder having. a rearward projection adapted to support theloweredge of the holder next above it.

7. A visible "index, comprising a re l.

iii-sine, and se of card holders s ida c mountedtherein, each cardholder he rearward projecion spaced from its lo ver edge and supportingthe lower edge otthe holder next above, and forward projections thebacl: of the holder next below sons to retain the holders spacedapartfrom each other.

8. A visible index, comprising a raclr frame, and a series of cardholders mounted therein, each card holder having a rearward projectionspaced from its lower edge and supporting the lower edge of the holderext above, a flange extending forwardly from its lower edge and thebaclr oi; the holder next below, and a forward projection of the sameheight as said flange engaging the baol: of the holder next below.

9. A visible index, comprising a rack frame, and aseries of card holdersslidably mounted therein, each card holder having a rearward projectionspaced from its lower edge and supporting the lower edge of the holdernext above, and plurality of for ward projections, all said forwardprojections being located further from the upper edge of the holder thanthe distance between the lower edge of the holder and its rearwardprojection.

10. In a visible index, a card holder comprising a plate having anoverturned edge along its top, two forward projections on said holder,and a. transparent strip held between the turned-over edge and the upperedges of said projections.

11. In a visible index, a card holder comprising a plate having aturned-over flange along its upper edge and a perpendicular flange atits lower edge, forward projections on said holder between said flanges,a transparent strip retained between the turnedover flange and saidprojections, and a card temporarily retained in said holder with itsupper portion insert-ed under said strip between the projections and itslower edge resting on said lower flange.

12. In a visible index, the combination of a card holder, a signaldevice slidably mounted on said card holder, and means whereby a cardtemporarily mounted in. said card holder will prevent sliding of thesignal device.

13. In a visible index, a card holder comprising aplate containing aslot, a strip secured over said plate and containing a slot parallel tothe slot in the plate, and a slidable signal device having a bodybetween the plate and the strip, a rea ward projection entering the slotin the plate, and a forward projection entering the slot in the strip.

14. A visible index, comprising a rack frame and a series of cardholders as claimed in claim 13 slidably mounted in said rack,

"ans i or 'spaeing sa card holders dstance eater than the length.-.Ct10llS of the slideslol index, a card holder comprising iplatecontaining aslot, atrans scrip mounted over the upper porn oi 'theil'ronti'ace of the plate and e'ontaining a slot parallel to the slot inthe plate, and a slide having a body located be tween the plate and? thestrip, and a rearward projection entering the slot in the plate, andforward projection entering the slot in the strip, the holder beingadapted to hold a card temporarily with its upper portion extendingunder the portion of the strip containing the slot to prevent movementof the slide.

16. In a visible index, a card holder comprising plate containing aslot, a tran parent strip mounted over the upper portion of the frontface of. the plate and containing a slot parallel to the slot in theplate, and a. slide having a body located between the plate and thestrip and a rearward projection entering the slot in the plate and aforward projection entering the slot in the strip, the holder beingadapted to support a card temporarily in position to prevent movement orthe slide.

1.7. In a visible index, a card holder con1- prising a plate containinga slot, a color card mounted. against the front face of the plate andcontaining a slot registering with.

the slot in the plate, a transparent strip mounted over the upperportion of the front face of the colored card and contain ing a slotparallel to the slot in the plate, a. card mounted on the card holderwith its upper portion extending under said tran parent strip andcovering all of said colored card except the portion visible through aportion of the strip adjacent to the slot therein, and a slide having abody located between the colored card and the strip and a rearwardprojection entering the slot in the plate and the slot in the coloredcard and a forward projection entering the slot in the strip, the holderbeing adapted to support a card temporarily in position to preventmovement of the slide.

18. In a visible index, the combination of a card holder, two signaldevices slidably mounted on the card holder for movement toward and awayfrom each other, and means for temporarily mounting a card in said cardholder between said signal devices to prevent sliding either of themtoward the other.

19. In a visible index, a card holder comprising a plate having anoverturned flange along its upper edge, an overturned flange 6.7L endingalong a portion of its lower edge,

nd a perpendicular flange extending along the remainder of its loweredge, spaced forward projections on the plate between its upper andlower edges, a card permanently attached to the holder and having itsupper and lower edges held by said overturned flanges, a strippermanently attached to the holder and having its upper edge held by theupper overturned flange and its lower edge held by said projections, anda card temporarily attached to the holder with its upper portioninserted under the strip and 10 its lower edge resting on theperpendicular flange.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand.

WILLIAM P. DE SAUSSURE, JR.

